Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi have won the Nobel Prize in medicine for their work on peripheral immune tolerance. Their discoveries have advanced treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases and may improve transplant success. The Nobel Assembly announced the award on Monday. Sakaguchi first discovered regulatory T cells in 1995. Then, in 2001, Brunkow and Ramsdell identified a mutation in the Foxp3 gene linked to autoimmune diseases. Sakaguchi later connected these findings, showing how the Foxp3 gene controls T-regs. The trio will share nearly $1.2 million in prize money.
